Mars Simulation
This is a simulation of what one would expect to find on a terraformed Mars, using formulas from Math And Terraforming. Please note that not even the supercomputers at NASA can provide us with a perfect simulation. The information showed here is only an approximation. Basic data *Distance from Sun: 150.000 million km *Diameter: 4000 km *Solar Constant: 0.8 *Mass: 0.09 Earths *Mean density: 3 kg/l *Orbital period: 800 Earth days *Day length: 20 h 37 m 22.663 s *Rotation axial tilt: 15 degrees Atmosphere See Atmosphere Parameters Mars has a rarefied atmosphere. It can be argued that the amount of gasses trapped in the soil is not enough to create an atmosphere similar to Earth's. Also, the planet needs water to create oceans. Technicians will have to bring both water and gasses from somewhere else. During this simulation, we will use an atmosphere with the same pressure at sea level as Earth's and a similar composition. *Atmosphere stability for oxygen molecules: **Earth's gravity (15 degrees C): 4.116 **Mars's gravity (15 degrees C): 6.933 **Mars's gravity (-50 degrees C): 5.370 *Atmosphere stability for water molecules: **Earth's gravity (15 degrees C): 7.320 **Mars's gravity (15 degrees C): 12.33 **Mars's gravity (-50 degrees C): 9.546 *Atmosphere stability for hydrogen molecules: **Earth's gravity (15 degrees C): 65.88 **Mars's gravity (15 degrees C): 110.9 **Mars's gravity (-50 degrees C): 85.91 notes: A value below 10 means stability for over a million years, a value between 10 and 100 means stability between 0.1 and 10 millions of years, while a value higher then 100 means stability for less then 10 thousand years. This calculation does not include solar wind erosion. Conclusion: Mars is able to hold back an atmosphere made of oxygen and nitrogen, both below and above the greenhouse gas layer. Water vapors can also be safely kept in the atmosphere. Water vapors above the greenhouse layer will be more stable and fall back down. However, hydrogen, resulting from interaction between water molecules and UV radiation, will tend to escape into space. Mars has a stable atmosphere for at least 0.05 million years. The atmosphere will look like this: *Surface pressure at sea level: 1 For surface temperature = 15: *Atmosphere total mass (Earth = 1): 0.87 *Atmosphere breathable height: 26.09 km *Atmosphere total height: 77 km For surface temperature = -50: *Atmosphere total mass (Earth = 1): 0.77 *Atmosphere breathable height: 22 km *Atmosphere total height: 65 km In practice, atmosphere below the greenhouse layer will behave in one way, while atmosphere above the insulation will behave in another way. Because of this, we can estimate that the atmosphere of Mars will be somehow like this: Ground surface temperature: 15 degrees C *Atmosphere total mass: 0.85 Atmosphere breathable height: 25 km *Atmosphere total height: 67 km. The breathable height is the point where atmosphere pressure will be like on Everest. As one can see, the gas layer surrounding Mars will extend far, but will be very rarefied. Temperature Main article: Temperature. The first problem with Mars is that we need to increase its temperature by adding Greenhouse Gases. The Greenhouse Calculator offers some useful formulas. We will need one of the following: *CO2: 206 kg/sqm or *Sulfur hexafluoride: 0.00862 kg/sqm. Climate Simulation Main article: Climate. On Earth, the average temperature is +15 degrees C. The selected greenhouse gas will try to keep the planet's average temperature on a similar level. However, greenhouse gasses are heavy and will tend to accumulate at lower altitudes. Mars is a smaller planet then Earth, so that air currents will mix temperatures fasters. On the other hand, it has terrain obstacles (high mountains), that will block air currents. Another major problem is that the ocean will be in the North, while in South, altitudes rise dramatically. Average temperatures for each latitude: Simulation for equinox: *poles: -68 C *75 deg: -20 C *60 deg: -1 C *45 deg: 13 C *30 deg: 25 C *15 deg: 34 C *equator: 44 C Simulation for winter solstice: *poles: -68 C *75 deg: -68 C *60 deg: -39 C *45 deg: -13 C *30 deg: 4 C *15 deg: 16 C *equator: 28 C Simulation for summer solstice: *poles: 15 C *75 deg: 25 C *60 deg: 32 C *45 deg: 32 C *30 deg: 41 C *15 deg: 38 C *equator: 28 C Day - night cycle variation: *Daily temperature variation: 10 degrees C *Equator day-night variations: **During equinox: 39 to 49 degrees C **During solstice: 23 to 33 degrees C *45 degrees latitude day-night variations: **During equinox: 8 to 18 degrees C **During winter solstice: -18 to -8 degrees C **During summer solstice: 27 to 37 degrees C Seasons: Mars has a significant axial tilt. As the simulation reveals, variations between seasons are significant. The planet will have cold winters and hot summers. In addition, because of the long orbital period, seasons will be nearly twice as long as on Earth. Also, Mars has a more elliptical orbit then Earth, which will cause on one hemisphere seasons to be more harsh then on the other one. This is not calculated here. Other factors: There is a significant altitude differences between hemispheres. This will influence air currents, which will prefer to move along the equator. We must also notice that greenhouse gasses are heavy and will prefer to stick at low altitudes. Because of this, elevated terrains will experience much colder seasons. Conclusion. Surprisingly, Mars will have a more harsh climate then Venus and even Earth. It will include hot summers and cold winters. At a latitude of 45 degrees, ice will hardly melt during winter, while in summer, it will be hotter then on Earth. Another interesting pattern is that the equator will also experience seasons, with temperature variations of 16 C between equinox and solstice. The North pole, covered by ocean water, will be ice-covered, while at the South pole, where altitudes are high, huge glaciers will form. Geography See also: Geography and Geographic Pattern - Erosion. Mars has an interesting and complex Geography, which creates extreme problems for any climate simulations. Oceans. There will be 3 large oceans and many other lakes. The largest ocean, located to the North, will have a more complex climate. It will receive water flowing from the continent and rain created by its own. Since it will encircle the North pole, it will have cooler water. There will be two equatorial oceans, probably endorheic. It is possible that at least one of them will receive enough water to flow into the Northern ocean. They will both have the hottest water. In addition, there will also be many lakes. Rivers. Mars has the advantage of a complex network of valleys. Still, since the planet had flowing rivers, some valleys were obstructed by craters. On Mars, rivers will form easy and will not require too much human intervention. The Mariner Valley, which is a tectonic depression, will not become a river. Instead, it will be filled with ocean water. Continents. There will be a single, massive continent in South. Because of its size and elevation, its center (the South pole) will be a cold desert. Mountains. What is interesting for Mars is the presence of Olympus Mons, very high volcanoes. Atmospheric simulation reveals that once Mars is terraformed, air pressure will be a bit lower then on Earth's mount Everest. Adventurers could climb them. However, temperature will be very low, since they will pierce out of the greenhouse layer. Mars will have many highlands, which will experience similar climate patterns with the Tibet plateau, the highest being very close to the equator. This will block air currents. Cold Deserts. Mars will have no ocean close to the South pole, which lies at high elevation. In South, there are also not many valleys, suggesting this region was a desert even before. Still, because temperatures will be very low in winter, ice will accumulate. Between the latitudes of 40 and 60 South, there will be high temperatures in summer, while in winter ice will accumulate. Based on this, we can speculate that rivers will only flow in spring, when ice melts, while in summer, the area will be a large desert. The Sky Simulation shows that Mars will have a more fluffy atmosphere then Earth. Because of the very low temperatures above the greenhouse gas layer, water vapors will condensate there fast and fall to the ground. Because of this, we can expect the sky on Mars to be blue and nearly all stars visible on Earth to be also visible on Mars. *The Sun will appear 6.15 units wide (like an object 6.15 mm wide will appear if you look from a distance of 1 m, see Angular Size for details). *Phobos will appear 2.2 units wide. *Deimos will appear 1.7 units wide. *Mercury will have a Magnitude of -2. *Venus will have a magnitude of -4.5. *Earth will have a magnitude of -3 to -6. *Moon will have a magnitude of -3 to -1. *Ceres will be visible at lose distance with a magnitude of +5. *Jupiter will have a magnitude of -2. *Saturn will have a magnitude of 0 to +1.5, depending on ring phase. Human Colonies *Population limit: 590 million *Land population feeding capacity: 129 people fed from one square km *Largest city supported by environment: 2 360 000 people Assuming it will have similar types of terrain Earth will have, Mars can support a Population Limit of 590 million people. As one can see, Mars will have seasons and many features common with earth, but also many differences. It is the only planet that will have seasons similar to Earth (even if longer), the only planet with a similar day length, but also smaller and able to support a smaller population. It might be possible for people in the future to call Mars Little Earth. Industry Mars has huge natural deposits of iron, so we should expect steel to become the main material used for building. Other natural resources should exist as well. On the other hand, a significant part of resources might be found in the South polar regions or at high altitudes on the dead volcanoes. Extracting them would be difficult, similar to mining operations in the Arctic Circle on Earth. With the highest deposits of iron in the Solar System, Mars has the potential to develop metallurgy and associated industrial branches. We can imagine that on the (former) red planet will be produced vehicles, robots and various metal products. Of course, this will cause some Pollution as a side effect. With the presence of many natural rivers, water should be the main source of energy for the planet. We also have natural dams. Many valleys have obstacles, created by craters and landslides. Agriculture Main articles:, Plants on new worlds, Agriculture and Agriculture on Mars. Mars has its surface covered with dust, which will become the new soil after terraforming. The main challenge for settlers is to find the perfect climate fit for plants. Seasons are longer and temperature variations are higher then on Earth. Because of this, it is some plants will not adapt. Still, in some cases, it will be feasible to grow two crops an year. Transportation Mars has huge deposits of iron, which can be used for building railways and bridges on a large scale. Gravity is lower and quakes are smaller then on Earth, so that it will be more easy to build. Without oil, there will be no asphalt. Still, it is possible to build concrete roads, since many rocks will have similar properties with concrete. Mars has the advantage of a massive supercontinent, covering the whole Southern hemisphere. Even with some natural barriers, like mountains, valleys and highlands, it is possible to build a large equatorial highway and railway, with branches that will separate to South and to North coast. Water transport will have limited importance. Air transport will be for passengers traveling long distances. Tourism We can expect tourism to occur on Mars. Because it is the most easy celestial body to terraform, many visitors will come to explore this world, without colonizing it. Wild Life From all terraformed bodies, Mars will offer a climate that is similar to Earth in many aspects. The planet will offer everything from rain forests to temperate areas and a tundra. Large rivers will offer an ecosystem that will simulate the Amazon or the Congo. The high terrain around Olympus Mons will offer conditions similar to the Himalayas and Tibet Plateau. The Northern Ocean can be home for many species of fish and other oceanic animals, while the two endorheic oceans will offer home for some endangered species. Mars will have a single continent in South, a continuous landmass. Because of this, competitive species cannot be separated for long. While inserting plants and animals, ecologists must be very careful not to insert invasive species. Category:Simulation Category:Math